


Deleted Scenes: Below Decks

by StarryEyes2000



Series: Deleted Scenes Season Two [2]
Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Deleted Scenes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:07:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27006301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarryEyes2000/pseuds/StarryEyes2000
Summary: Deleted scenes, character development, and other odds and ends for Season 2 from the prespective of Discovery's junior crewmembers.
Series: Deleted Scenes Season Two [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1971025
Comments: 4
Kudos: 2





	Deleted Scenes: Below Decks

**Author's Note:**

> Companion to Deleted Scenes, Codas and Other Stuff. Both are independent works and it is not necessary to read one to understand the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Pike assumes command of Discovery, there is more to tend to than the seven signals. The crew is troubled and suspicious after their experience with Lorca. Junior crewmembers discuss Discovery's unexpected change of command.

Kofi walked into his quarters that pointing over his shoulder and firing off questions at his usual rapid pace without stopping for answers. “Did we drop out of warp earlier today? Did I see a ship off our port bow? When did a Barzani join the crew? No one notified us and I have no idea what she can and cannot eat.” He drew breath as he looked around his quarters and directed the next question to his roommate Lila, “Why are so many people here?”

Lila waved her arm at the four other people in the room. “Information exchange of course. Bonnie was on duty when he met with Dr. Pollard. Hannah was tending the spore farm when Saru gave him a tour of engineering. Jason was on duty in the transporter room when he and his officers beamed on board. Max talked to Rhys who was on the bridge during the transfer of command.”

Bonnie chimed in, “Lila means we are talking about the new Captain.”

Kofi looked perplexed. “He’s onboard already? I thought we had another three days. Damn, I’ve spent the past ten hours trying to perfect my plomeek broth and it’s nowhere near right yet. So that was his ship I saw earlier?” His voice rose a bit as he continued, “Saru is going to be very unhappy if we are not completely and perfectly ready. Did I mention our incoming captain doesn’t eat replicated food? Everything must be prepared from fresh ingredients. And as sous chef that time consuming task falls to me. Being a captain must be nice.”

Lila smiled fondly at Kofi as he continued bemoaning the little challenges the universe delivered to him today. He liked to project a temperamental persona. But she could not have endured the difficult months serving under Lorca without his steadfast support. “No, that ship was the Enterprise.”

Kofi stared at them blankly, raising an eyebrow and lifting his shoulders.

Hannah shook her head. “Artists can be so single-minded at times. It was _the Enterprise_.”

“So, _the Enterprise_ ,” Kofi mimicked her tone, “ferried Captain Selyk to our position and picked up Ambassador Sarek? Who, I add, thankfully, has no problem eating replicated meals. The Ambassador is a VIP, so his Uber home is a well-known ship. Makes sense.”

Max joined the conversation, “Really Kofi, you can be a moron. Our new captain, at least temporarily, is the Captain of the Enterprise. Didn’t you hear his announcement about the change of command and our new mission?”

“So, we’re part of a flotilla now? Cool. And no, I didn’t hear the announcement. I turn off the ship’s comm in the galley, it’s constantly screeching and that distracts me.”

Jason looked horrified. “But what if we are called to battle stations?”

Kofi rolled his eyes, “You they would need. What am I going to do, pour hot soup on intruders?”

“Whatever it takes to defend the ship,” Max quickly countered.

Bonnie grabbed the chef’s forearm, looking profoundly serious. “Kofi, no you can’t do that, what if there is an order to evacuate the ship?”

Kofi frowned and rubbed the back of his neck, “Yes, there may be a flaw in my plan if you play the tape to the end.” He leaned over and pecked Bonnie on the check, “But I know you would never leave a friend, or for that matter, even an enemy behind. So back to this new captain – what’s his name?”

“Captain Christopher Pike” all answered, like a chorus.

“Is that significant?” Kofi asked.

Everyone was quiet for a moment and then all spoke at once. “He’s the captain of the flagship … He could ask for and would be granted command of any ship in the fleet, why us? … He doesn’t do routine missions … That’s right, the Enterprise is either in deep space or called home when there is a threat or a disaster … Or sometimes a diplomatic crisis … I’ve heard he has strict standards and if you don’t meet them you are gone in a flash …”

“You see the pattern. And with the spore drive decommissioned what does Discovery have to offer in a situation that requires the attention of Captain Pike?” Hannah finished for the group.

“The best known and most highly decorated _fighting_ captain in the fleet is now in charge of our little battered science ship.” Bonnie answered, close to tears. “I am so tired of fighting and watching people die.” She paused to wipe and fight back the tears. “Lorca was supposedly well-respected and look how that turned out.” Still trembling she looked quickly at Lila.

Lila walked over and hugged her. “That’s over now. And you can’t pay attention to rumors, they’re one-sided. Let’s not automatically assume he’s another Lorca.”

Jason looked dejected which almost never happened before serving under Lorca but now occurred too frequently. “How can we not? I don’t trust Command anymore. They missed someone _from another universe_ posing as one of us. Someone who was supposed to be a good friend of Admiral Cornwall. How is that possible? Or was it simply convenient to ignore Lorca’s domineering leadership once we were losing the war and Command believed he and the spore drive were vital for our defense.” He shook his head, now in despair. Bonnie wondered if his optimistic outlook on life would ever return. She missed his wonderment at and embrace of all things new.

“Lorca was brilliant and skilled at manipulation. Willing to use any tactic to get what he wanted. That’s a potent and sometimes unstoppable force, often until it’s too late.” Lila said sadly.

Max, who had started pacing the small room, spoke angrily, “What the hell kind of strategy was it anyway to keep the Enterprise out of play during the war and let Lorca take a leadership role in the field? Morons. And not to build more ships with a spore drive if it was our only effective weapon against the Klingons?”

“They said the Enterprise was too far away to make it back in time.” Hannah answered.

“That’s propaganda to cover their incompetence. The war lasted over 18 months. Typically, deep space vessels travel six to seven months beyond Federation space. Even assuming they went two months beyond that, Enterprise could have been back long before the war ended. I tried to confirm but their last mission is classified. Isn’t that convenient?”

“There is a rumor Enterprise was held back as a Hail Mary option if things got desperate.” Bonnie added.

“How desperate did things need to get? Almost 10,000 people died in the first battle. You always start your A squad in a championship game. Idiots.” Max emphasized his last point.

Lila tuned out the conversation. Surely this wasn’t part of Lorca’s plan as well? Was he behind the decision to keep Enterprise out of the way? Was Enterprise a threat to him and his plans?

Kofi started handing out beers. He wondered when the senior officers would notice that many of the crew were troubled from their experiences with Lorca. Especially the junior crew members assigned to operations and services. The scientists mostly hid in their labs and stayed out of Lorca’s way. The rest of the crew didn’t have that luxury. Until the ship’s commander addressed the problem, the least he could do was take care of his friends. And tonight they were more anxious than usual. “Since I am not a model or even semi-proper Starfleet officer, I’ll say what you all l are dancing around – why didn’t the senior officers on Discovery do more to protect us and stop Lorca? I know starship captains wield an extraordinary amount of power over their crews, but were those officers looking the other way? Thinking only of their careers? Hell, we even had an experienced mutineer on board. And I am not talking about junior officers like Owo or Linus. They were victims as much as the rest of us.”

“I think Saru tried. But what could he do?” Bonnie always looked for the best in everyone.

“That’s true, what could any of us do since he had Command’s support?” Jason agreed.

“They wouldn’t even grant Lila a transfer to a different ship.” Bonnie reminded everyone.

“Burnham certainly wasn’t going to turn against him since he released her from jail.” Hannah added. “Though she wasn’t a senior officer at that point.”

“Don’t get me started on Burnham and her being restored to full rank.” Max said.

“Ellen Landry and the CMO were his creatures.” Lila stated without any emotion in her voice. “There wasn’t anyone else on the ship with enough clout to oppose him. And he cleverly softened his actions at just the right moments. Even I thought I was misjudging him. You felt the same way, didn’t you Bonnie?”

“Yes. I’d think, he’s not a warm and fuzzy captain but he seems to know what he’s doing. I assumed his mood swings and occasional cruelty were the result of the heavy responsibility of leading a ship during a war. And the hard decisions that requires.”

“That is the really frustrating thing. We should be excited at the prospect of serving under the flagship commander. Or at least somewhat happy. Before Lorca I would have been shouting about this opportunity from the rooftops. There is a reason it’s so hard to get a posting on Enterprise.” Max slumped into a chair having paced off his nervous energy.

“A new commander always makes me a little nervous. But it shouldn’t be this stressful.” Jason concluded.

“Or intimidating.” Bonnie added. “The captain we were expecting didn’t feel threatening. Maybe because he is Vulcan. Or reminds me of my great-grandfather. Or is a scientist.”

“What did Rhys tell you?” Kofi asked Max.

“Said Pike seemed to have a sense of humor which he used to ease tension on the bridge. And Pike claims he is not like Lorca. Rhys is cautiously optimistic but when is he ever not optimistic?” The others nodded their agreement. “Plus, they were both test pilots and bonded over some obscure failed fighter. Oh, and Tilly, did a _Tilly_ when she was performing the DNA authentication.” That elicited several groans. “Rambled on and on, complimented Pike in front of everyone, something about a pinkie not being an authoritative finger and then displaying his personnel file on the main view screen.”

Hannah shook her head. “How did Tilly, a cadet when she was first assigned to Discovery and in need of, shall we say, more time to mature, get on the bridge before Max and Jason? Who were both already ensigns?”

Bonnie jumped in. “Tilly was manipulated by Lorca as much as anyone else on board even though he granted her unusual privileges.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I like Tilly. She’s kind and talented. But assigning her to this ship during a war was wrong. She wasn’t ready. If they needed to mobilize cadets for the war effort there were other assignments better suited to her. But Lorca needed her in the mirror universe and used anything and anyone to get the spore drive working. She’s paid the price despite the quick promotion. Another shining moment for Command.” Hannah thumped her palm on the arm of the chair. “Sorry. I feel protective of Tilly, she’s like a younger sister.”

The conversation slowed and after another half an hour began to lag as their anxious energy was spent. _Time to change the subject_ Kofi thought. “So what is this new mission?”

“Seven signals appeared simultaneously. Enterprise finally plotted a location for one of them. We’re on our way now to those coordinates to investigate.” Max explained.

Then Jason continued. “And Command is worried. Pike was given the Discovery under the regulation for imminent threat, lives in danger and no other ranking officer present to mitigate the situation. At least that’s what he said in the transporter room.”

“Where’s Enterprise?” Kofi asked.

“Dead in space due to a freak accident.” Jason answered.

That brought the mood down and everyone sat silently. _Time to change the subject again._ “Hmmm, sounds like I still had the worst day.” Kofi announced. “At least I don’t have to continue perfecting plomeek broth. That’s a relief. It really is vile.” That triggered a couple of faint smiles. And then a few weak laughs. Max rolled his eyes and Hannah shook her head. Kofi continued as he ushered them out the door. “Let’s go to the mess hall and catch up on the rest of the gossip about Captain Pike. We should start a rumor and see how much it evolves overnight. Did I mention I baked cookies in between my moments of despair over the plomeek broth? They are the prize for inventing the best rumor. But you have to share. Hannah, explain to me again what an exoagriculturalist does?”


End file.
